Soccer Birthdays – January 7

Hooligan wishes a very happy birthday to these soccer-folk born on this day.

Eden Hazard

A Belgian winger/midfielder and renowned for his exceptional dribbling, vision, and creativity. Born in 1991, his senior career began with Lille in France, where he won Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France in 2011. Hazard moved to Chelsea in 2012, becoming one of the Premier League’s finest players, winning two league titles, an FA Cup, and two UEFA Europa League trophies. In 2019, he joined Real Madrid, and while some pundits believe that transfer turned out poorly he still added La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles to his resume. Hazard earned 123 caps for Belgium, scoring 33 goals and leading them to a historic third-place finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Jan Oblak

Widely considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Oblak was born in the town of Škofja Loka in Slovenia in 1993. He began his senior career at Olimpija Ljubljana before moving to Portugal, where he played for Benfica and won a domestic treble in 2014. He then moved to Atlético Madrid later that year for a then-record transfer fee (for a keeper) of €16 million. With Atlético, he has won multiple titles, including La Liga in the 2020-21 season and the UEFA Europa League in 2018. He has recorded clean sheets in 52% of his games, an outstanding figure, and continues to be a cornerstone of Atlético’s defensive success.

Antoine Semenyo

Born at the dawn of a new millennium (aka 2000), Semeyno is a striker who currently plays for AFC Bournemouth and the Ghanaian national team. He began his career at Bristol City, where he progressed through the youth system before breaking into the first team. Semenyo gained experience through loan spells at Bath City, Newport County, and Sunderland, showcasing his development. Since moving to Bournemouth in 2023 he’s scored 14 times in 60 appearances.

Davide Astori

Born in 1987, Italian defender Astori played for Cagliari and Fiorentina, in addition to earning 14 caps for his national team. He died of cardiac arrest on March 4, 2018.

Wayne Routledge

Routledge started his career at Crystal Palace in 2001 when he was just 16 (you do the math). He went on to play for Spurs, Aston Villa, QPR and Newcastle before settling in at Swansea City, where he appeared 259 times before retiring in 2021.

Emiliano Insúa

An Argentinian/Spanish defender born in 1989, Insúa’s career spanned 2007 through 2023. Primarily a left-back, he started at Boca Juniors and has had stints playing for Liverpool, Sporting CP, Atlético Madrid, VfB Stuttgart, LA Galaxy, Aldosivi and Racing Club. He also has 5 caps for the Argentinian national team.